GBBO Drinks – Part One
This week, Olly matches the drinks for delicious Great British Bake Off recipes…
Paul’s Baked Plum Skillet Cake
Olly’s wine pairing: Marks and Spencer’s Gibo Asti NV (7%) £7.50
Sourced from some of the top vineyards around Asti in northern Italy, this is wine’s answer to sparkling elderflower. Gorgeously fruity with plenty of sherbet spritz, the bubbles contrast beautifully with the Baked Plum Skillet Cake and lift the palate ready for the next nibble.
Paul’s Red Velvet Cake
Olly’s wine pairing: Coole Swan Premium Irish Cream Liqueur (16%, 70cl) £25, John Lewis
Beautifully silky, this unctuously textured treat is made using fresh cream from Ireland, single malt whiskey and Belgian white chocolate. With Paul’s Red Velvet Cake, this velvet gorgeousness is sublime! Serve it chilled in a small wine or brandy glass for a classy accompaniment.
Elderflower Sweet Treats
Olly’s wine pairing: Brown Brothers Orange Muscat and Flora 2022 (9%, half bottle) £8.50, Tesco
As scented as a sherbet mandarin, this syrupy sweet elixir from Australia has all the fragrance you need to serve with elderflower-tinted sweet treats. Keep it cool and if you find it on the sweet side, totally fine to pour it over ice for a touch of cooling dilution.
Prue’s Garibaldi Biscuits
Olly’s wine pairing: Morrisons The Best Pedro Ximenez (17%, half bottle) £6.50
Pop this half bottle in the fridge and treat yourself to a small glass of its rich sweet sleekness with Prue’s Garibaldi Biscuits. As a rule of thumb, your dessert wine should always be sweeter than the recipe it’s paired with – and thanks to fortified sundried Spanish grapes with years of careful maturation, this is one of the darkest and sweetest wines of all. Also breathtaking value for money.
Dark Chocolate
Olly’s wine pairing: M&S Classics Finest Reserve Port NV (20%) £11
The cherryish sweetness of this port elides magnificently with silky dark chocolate – think of it like the Black Forest Gateau effect where chocolate and cherries unite in a bid for bold deliciousness. With a tasty twist of spice, for £11 this Port delivers large-scale entertainment for a reasonable price.
Savoury Bakes
Olly’s wine pairing: Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé NV (12%) £15, Sainsbury’s
With savoury bakes from oat biscuits to cheese straws, fizz is always a good bet and this elegant pink blend from Sainsbury’s is delightfully pure. With impeccably balanced freshness, it’ll appeal both to those who enjoy a fruity bubbly and those who prefer their fizz on the dry side.
